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Advice for Potential Students of Knowledge

Gaining knowledge of this religion is the highest state that man can achieve, with
correct actions of course. This is a state that takes man beyond the kings, princes and
wealthy individuals busy with this worldly life. The acquisition of knowledge can take
man from the lowest trenches of society to the highest of heights. However, all the
benefits of knowledge can not be obtained unless the person tries to acquire it in the
correct fashion.

Most students of knowledge, either one, do not know the correct methodology of
seeking knowledge, and therefore, waste a lot of the years of their lives acquiring very
little if anything at all, or two, know the correct methodology of seeking knowledge but
do not follow the correct course (I, of course, am one those people). The first advice
that one should seek before beginning on this long journey is the advice of what to do
and how to do it. This advice should be sought diligently from people who have vast
experience in the act of seeking knowledge.

#1 Ikhlaas (sincerity)
Ikhlaas is the most important piece of advice because with its absence, no good can
come about in a person’s studies. Ikhlaas is the doing of an action solely for the
pleasure of Allah. This means not doing actions that are done to show off, nor to do
actions that are to seek the favors and praise of man. A condition of Ikhlaas is that the
action done also has to be in accordance with the Kitaab and the Sunnah. If a person
does an action solely for the purpose of the pleasure of Allah, but that action is an
innovation in worship, it will not be accepted from him. No action will be accepted until
it is with Ikhlaas and in accordance with the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His
Messenger. Moreover, we know from the Hadith narrated on the authority of Umar bin
Al-Khattaab that the Prophet said that actions are based on intentions and every man
will get what he has intended.

#2 Al-Quraan
This is the next issue that people have a big problem with. The Quraan is the most
important book in our lives. It is the basis of our religion. Having the importance that it
has in our religion, it should be treated as such. The most important advice that a
person in the west can take before he leaves the country to start his journey for seeking
knowledge is to read the Quran all the time, and if you aren’t reading then you should
be listening to it. Honestly, what book could be more important than a book that comes
from the Lord of the Worlds.
The student needs to understand this fully. There is nothing more important in this
life than understanding the Book of Allah. Everything else from amongst the sciences is
there to help you understand the Speech of Allah better. Therefore, the student should
busy himself in the beginning with the memorization of the Quran and the
understanding of the Quran to the best of his capabilities and according to his
understanding of the knowledge. Not every person has the ability to just start seeking
knowledge by picking up Tafseer Ibn Jareer and reading all 20 volumes to understand
the Quran. Knowledge should be taken in stages and the student should not rush to
understand everything all at once.

If the student has a decent grasp on the Arabic language, he can start with the
following books:

1) Tafseer Al-Baghawi

2) Tafseer Ibn Kathir

If the student has no knowledge of the Arabic language other than how to read it, he
should continue memorizing the Quran while studying the language diligently. Through
his memorization and constant reading of the Quran in Arabic, he will soon find ease in
his studies of the language. However, he should be warned not to fall into the advice of
not memorizing the Quran until he knows Arabic, this advice could only come from
someone who was unsuccessful in his seeking of knowledge.

#3 The Arabic Language


The Arabic language is the key to the understanding of all the sciences of this religion.
A person will only get as far in seeking knowledge as his knowledge and understanding
of the language will take him.

Obviously, the most important task for the student is to learn how to read. If that is
accomplished, he needs to practice this skill a lot by reading the Quran day and night in
Arabic. He should sit with a person who has knowledge of the rules of tajweed and
make sure that he is pronouncing all words correctly. Once he has a good grip on
reading he should start out with basic vocabulary of words that he sees while reading
the Quran. This step will help him start to understand the Quran better.

The next stage should involve listening to different lectures from the scholars of the
Sunnah. He should listen whether he understands or not. The point here is to expose
the student as much as possible to the Arabic language to facilitate the learning process.
Of course, listening to the scholars should come when one is not listening to the Quran.
Moreover, when one is listening to the Quran, he should have the mus’haf open and he
should be focusing on the pronunciation of each word.

In accordance with the previous advice, the student should set aside a specific
amount of time dedicated to writing. He should take these books on ta’beer and write
everything that he sees in a note book. All the activities should be written out in a
notebook and not written in the book itself.

With these three pieces of advice of reading, listening and writing, the student should
start to see amazing results in a few months. Once the student is then able to read and
understand, he should start taking small basic books like the explanations of Al-Usool-ul-
Thalaathah by Shiekh Bin Baaz, Shiekh Saleh Al-Fawzaan, or Shiekh Al-Uthaimeen and
reading them from cover to cover. He can also take other books like explanations for Al-
Qawaa’id Al-Arba’a, Kitaab-ul-Tawheed, and other smaller issues related to fataawa that
don’t involve complex fiqh issues.

The student has to understand that there are two qualities to being successful in his
studies, and if he has these two qualities, he will be successful, however, with the
absence of these two qualities, there will be an absence of success. These two qualities
are reading and memorization. The student has to read a lot and he has to memorize a
lot. There is no time for laziness in this regard. Once the student sets out on the
journey of seeking knowledge, his day should be full of memorization, review, and
reading to get more knowledge. Take a book with you everywhere you go, and
whenever you have free time, such as waiting for a bus, riding a bus, no work, waiting in
a doctor’s office, waiting for your food to come at the restaurant, or a hard time
sleeping, you should have the book with you and start reading. Furthermore, if it is at
night or you are walking or riding a bike, you should have something that aids you in
listening to the Quran or lectures from the scholars of the Sunnah.

The main point is that you have to drown yourself in the language. Whenever you can
help it, you need to only listen to, read and speak Arabic. If you are in the west, get a
group of students that have the same goals in mind and work and practice together.
This will aid you in acquiring the language at a much more rapid pace.

Grammar (Nahw)

Once you have progressed past the stage of understanding vocabulary and using it,
you need now to progress to the stage of putting these words in correct sentences. The
first book every student should start with is Al-Ajroomiyyah. This book is the basis for
everything the student will study in grammar. The student should start by first
committing this book to memory. It is small and can be read completely in about 13
minutes. Once the student has memorized this book, he should find a person who can
explain it in a simplistic way. Most of the book deals with familiarizing the student with
a lot of the jargon that will be used in grammar. After sitting with a teacher who helps
him understand the matn (small book), he should then begin reading basic explanations
to get more familiar with the matn. The best explanations I have read for Al-
Ajroomiyyah are: 1) Tuhfat-ul-Wassaabiyyah 2) Sharh-ul-Ajroomiyyah by Shiekh Al-
Uthaimeen 3) Sharh-ul-Ajroomiyyah by Al-Makoodi (the easiest) 4) Sharh-ul-
Ajroomiyyah by Khaled Al-Az’hari (also very simple).

Once the student has advanced to the point these books are understood, he should
then advance to Al-Mulhat-ul-I’araab. He has the choice of memorizing it or just
studying it. In Mauritania, as well as in other West African countries, they memorize
this matn next. The matn is 379 lines of poetry about nahw. It is written in a very
simple way and will aid in the students ability to memorize. Once memorized, the matn
should also be studied thoroughly. Books that can be read to assist the student are the
explanations by Al-Faakihi, Al-Hariri (the author) and Bah’raq. If this is understood the
student can easily study Qatr An-Nada and then Muwassil At-Tulaab fii Sharh Al-
Qawaa’id Al-I’raab by Khaled Al-Azhari.

Sarf (Morphology)

This science is important so the the students know how the verbs in Arabic change.
Moreover, this science is good to show us how we derive different forms from one root
word. This science is not to be taken lightly at all; the student must understand its
importance for his overall understanding of the language. The main book that the
student should start with is Laamiyyatul-Af’aal by Muhammad Ibn Maalik. Laamiyyatul-
Af’aal is a 114 line poem written to complete the book of Sarf that the author wrote in
his other poem which is called Al-Khulaasah more popularly known as Alfiyyatu-ibn
Maalik (we will come back to this book later insha’Allah). In the beginning the student
will find some difficulty reading this matn, but with patience and perseverance, he will
find it easy and enjoyable.

If a person is in the west and trying to find someone to teach him this book, he might
find extreme difficulty. It is difficult to find people who can teach this book even in the
Arabic speaking world, so what do you think about the west! However, there are some
good explanations to be found online from websites like Islamway.com and others.
There are also different explanations written by the author’s son, Bahraq, and the
easiest being one called Tahneek Al-At’faal. There is also one explanation a student
took from lessons with Muhammad Salim from Mauritania it is called At-Turrah
Tawsheeh Laamiyyatul-Af’aal. You can also find an explanation of this matn from
Muhammad Salim online in MP3 format but the quality isn’t that great. This matn and
these explanations are enough for a beginner.

Al-Balaaghah

At the beginning stages of seeking knowledge, this science isn’t completely necessary,
but being that it is one of the three most needed sciences of the language (the other
two being nahw and sarf), a basic understanding of this science is advisable.
Furthermore, the Arabs are a very poetic people. Most of the mutoon you will have to
memorize are put into poetic format to make the memorization process easier. The
Quraan was also sent down in the language of the Arabs so a strong knowledge of these
three sciences is necessary if the student wishes to reach a high level of knowledge.

There are two books that every student should start with whether his language is
Arabic or not these are: 1) Al-Balaaghatul-Waadhihah 2) Duroos-ul-Balaaghah by Shiekh
Al-Uthaimeen. These are the two simplest books a student can find. If the student does
find these two books easy, he can also read a book called Al-Jawaa’hir Al-Balaaghah by
Al-Haashimi. Moreover, the student is advised to read a bit of the poems of the Arab to
familiarize himself with this beautiful language. He can start by reading poems from Al-
Mutanabiyy, Abu Firaas, Abu Tam’maam, Bashaar Ibn Burd, Abu Nawwaas, or Abu
Attaahiyyah who mostly focuses on poems about death and zuhd (asceticism). If the
student wants to really go back in time he can read the Mu’allaqaat of Jaahiliyyah and
the different explanations of these poems.

#4 At-Tawheed and Al-Aqeedah


These two subjects are what our whole religion is about and are the two most
important subjects a student will study. Please do not get confused by me placing these
two sciences of the religion in the 4th spot, because you should be reading and studying
these sciences from the very beginning and until the day you die. However, I placed
these sciences in the 4th spot for the time the student is ready to mainly focus fully on
these two subjects.

The first thing that should be done is the memorization of Al-Usool-ul-Thalaathah. It


would be better to do this earlier in the beginning stages, but if you haven’t done it to
this point, do it now. Memorize it, study it and read all the explanations of it from the
scholars of Ahlus-Sunnah. This book is very important, and even though it is small in
size, the information contained inside is what you will need to worship Allah correctly
insha’Allah.
Next in line is Kitaab-ut-Tawheed. This is an amazing book and every student of
knowledge should place strong emphasis on this book and its contents. The student can
memorize it if he likes (that is better) or if you have the ability to find a book called Al-
Mukhtaar Min Ahaadeeth Sayyid Al-Abraar Fii Mu’taqad As-Sahih by Muhammad Ibn
Hizaam (May Allah preserve him), it would be a very good thing. Muhammad Al-Hizaam
made this book for Tawheed and Aqeedah using only Ahaadeeth that are Sahih
insha’Allah. However, one might find some difficulty procuring this book. We have it
here in Yemen, but whether you can find it in other countries, I don’t know. However, if
you cannot find this book, memorize Kitaab-ut-Tawheed and that will suffice insha’Allah.

Once a student has studied this amazing book thoroughly, he should then start to read
from the different explanations. From these are: 1) Fat’hul-Majeed li Sharh Kitaab-it-
Tawheed (if you can get the one with the tah’qeeq and ta’leeq by Muhammad Ibn
Hizaam, get it) 2) Tayseer Al-Aziz Al-Hamid 3) Al-Qawl-ul-Mufeed Ala Kitaab At-Tawheed
by Shiekh Al-Uthaimeen. These are the three best explanations and there are more by
Shiekh Saleh Al-Fawzaan and Shiekh An-Najmi (May Allah have mercy on him), however,
these three are all you really need.

This is sufficient for the student of knowledge to know about tawheed. Of course the
main book that every student should focus on in Tawheed is the Quraan. The Quraan is
all about dawah to Tawheed from the first letter to the last letter. Once a student has
studied Tawheed thoroughly, he will understand his religion better and understand the
blessing we have of not only being Muslims but by being blessed by Allah to be on the
path of the Salaf.

Al-Aqeedah

This subject is very important for students to know the signs of the sects of innovation.
This is important to protect the student from falling into these issues that can take him
away from being from Ahlus-Sunnah to being from amongst the stray sects (May Allah
protect us from falling into innovation and misguidance). This subject should not be
taken likely like some of the misguided so-called leaders of Muslims in America have
done, such as, Hamza Yusuf who made the statement that all Aqeedah can be explained
in 10 minutes. People should stay away from such pompous speech. If Aqeedah did not
carry the importance that it does as was obviously clear from what Hamza says, why do
we have so many books detailing all the different issues Muslims need to be aware of
when dealing with these misguided sects? Is the subject of Aqeedah a simple subject?
Yes. Is the subject of Aqeedah important? Very.
The first book students are advised to start off with is Al-Qawaa’id Al-Muth’laa by
Shiekh Al-Uthaimeen and the explanation. This book gives the basic rules of Ahlus-
Sunnah for the Names of Allah and His Attributes. This is a very important book for the
student because all these rules will be brought in the other books of Aqeedah, so if he
doesn’t know them, how can he understand them.

The next book in line dealing with this subject is Al-Aqeedat-ul-Waasitiyyah by Shiekh-ul-
Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. The student can choose between memorizing this book or
memorizing Al-Aqeedat-ut-Tahaawiyyah. Al-Waasitiyyah is much longer than At-
Tahaawiyyah, but either one will do. Upon memorizing the matn, one should study this
book thoroughly. It might even be necessary to study it more than once. The student
should also read the different explanations of this matn like: 1) Sharh Al-
AqeedatulWaasitiyyah by Shiekh Al-Uthaimeen 2) Sharh Al-AqeedatulWaasitiyyah by Al-
Haraas (this can also be studied), these are the most important explanations. There are
some more by Shiekh AbdurRahmaan Al-Barraak and Shiekh Saleh Al-Fawzaan and these
will suffice insha’Allah.

The next book is Al-Aqeedatut-Tahaawiyyah and the explanation of this matn by Ibn
Abdi Al-Izz. This book deals with a lot of the issues that people have fallen into
misguidance from. This is a very important book and assists the student to understand a
lot of the other issues that come in the books of Shiekh-ul-Islaam. This book is under no
circumstances to be studied with anyone not from Ahlus-Sunnah, as well as any other
book in Tawheed and Aqeedah and any other book in any science if it can be avoided.

Other books that a student can read and study in this science are: 1) Sharh I’tiqaad
Ahlus-Sunnah wa Al-Jamaa’ah by Al-Imam Al-Laalaakaa’ee 2) Al-Farq bayna Al-Fi’raq 3)
Risaalatu-At-Tadmuriyyah by Shiekh-ul-Islam 4) Al-I’tisaam by Al-Shaatibi 5) Khalq-ul-
Af’aal Al-Ibaad by Al-Bukhaari And really any book by Shiekh-ul-Islaam which are too
numerous to list here or his student Ibn Al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah. These books will
suffice and they are very important for a student to understand once he starts to get
into the more voluminous works of the scholars of Islaam who have fallen into some
mistakes in their Aqeedah, especially concerning the issue of Allah’s Names and
Attributes.

#5 Basic Fiqh
This subject bears great importance because you cannot do anything in this religion
from making wudhu, fasting, praying, hajj, or any other actions of the religion without
having a strong understanding of Fiqh first. Basic Fiqh is a simple subject to study, and
what I mean by basic Fiqh it means the issues that are agreed upon or subjects that
don’t have too much disagreement.

The first book a student should memorize here is Al-Umdatul-Ahkaam. This book is
easy because all the hadeeth are taken from Al-Bukhaari and Muslim, so it is easy for
the student because he doesn’t have to memorize the book of Hadith the Hadith was
taken from. This book should be memorized and studied with a teacher or scholar from
Ahlus-Sunnah, so the student doesn’t fall into a lot of talk about madhabs, because at
this stage in his studies that is not necessary. The different explanations the student
should focus on are: 1) Tayseer Al-Al’laam by Shiekh Abdullah Aali Bas’saam (May Allah
have mercy on him) 2) Ihkaam-ul-Ahkaam by Ibn Daqeeq Al-Eid. These two should
suffice isha’Allah.

Fiqh is mostly about reading, so the student is going to have to read a lot when
studying this subject. From the other books a student should read are: 1) Ad-Daraari Al-
Madhiyyah by Imam Ash-Shawkaani 2) Mulakhas Al-Fiqh’I by Shiekh Saleh Al-Fawzaan 3)
Subulus-Salaam Sharh Buloogh Al-Maraam by Imam As-Sana’aani 4) Fat’hul-Al’laam by
Muhammad Ibn Hizaam (which is said to be one of the best explanations on Bulooghul-
Maraam). And many other books, but these books will help you get started.

#6 Al-Usool-ul-Fiqh
This science is very important for a student to understand how to understand
different verdicts from the Kitaab and the Sunnah. Sometimes the statements of the
Prophet are very general and they can be used for different issues and that is one of the
many things that Usool-ul-Fiqh is about.

As a beginner, the student should memorize the matn Al-Waraqaat. The student has
two choices of either memorizing the poem of Al-Waraqaat or memorizing the regular
matn; either one will do. Students should study this book thoroughly and make sure
that everything is understood before advancing. Moreover, the student should take the
time to read different explanations dealing with this science from amongst those are: 1)
Sharh-ul-Waraqaat by Abdullah Al-Fawzaan 2) Sharh An-Nadhm Al-Waraqaat by Shiekh
Al-Uthaimeen 3) Sharh Al-Usool Min Ilm Al-Usool by Sheikh Al-Uthaimeen. And there
are many more explanations both big and small.

The next big book the student should study is Al-Mudhakirah Fii Usool Al-Fiqh by
Muhammad Ameen Mukhtaar Ash-Shinqeeti (May Allah have mercy on him). This is
one of the more intermediate books on Usool, and the author did a good job by keeping
a lot of the philosophy out of the book (May Allah reward him for his efforts). This book
needs to be studied thoroughly and with Ahlus-Sunnah because between this book and
his other book An-Nathr Al-Warood, most of the books that you will read in Usool-ul-
Fiqh are going to be from people who have delved deep into philosophy and entered
this foolishness into the different sciences of the religion, especially this one.

#7 Mustalah Al-Hadeeth
This science deals with being able to know the sound hadith from the weak ones. This
deals with going through the chains of narration and knowing how to judge whether the
hadith is sound or not. This is really only a small branch from the different sciences of
Hadith, but it is the most important to get started.

The first thing the student has to start with is by memorizing the matn Al-
Bayqooniyyah. It is a 34 line poem (very short) and it can be memorized very quickly.
Al-Bayqooniyyah deals with all the basic terms one must know when reading books on
the science of Hadith. There are many different explanations from many different
scholars on this matn, so get the one you are able to obtain and read it thoroughly.

The next matn after Al-Bayqooniyyah is Nukhbatul-Fikr by Haafidh Ibn Haajar. This is a
very small matn, it contains everything that a beginner will need to know and a little
more. It should be memorized and studied with a knowledgeable person from Ahlu Al-
Hadeeth. There are different explanations that should be read from the author himself
and from others. Other books the beginner should read are: 1) At-Taqyeed Wa Al-
Eedhaah by Al-Haafidh Zayn Ad-deen Al-Iraaqi 2) Fat’hul-Magheeth by the same author
3) Fat’hul Magheeth by As-Sakhaawi 4) An-Nukat ala Kitaab Ibn Salaah by Haafidh Ibn
Haajar 5) Muqadamatu Ibn Salaah 6) Tadreeb Ar-Raawii by As-Suyooti and many other
books that are too numerous to list here but these are the important ones for the
beginner.

Another action that will aid the student of Hadith is by taking the major books of
Hadith and reading them constantly. Moreover, the student should also read the books
of the Muhadiths of our time, such as Sheikh Muqbil and Shiekh Albaani (May Allah have
mercy on them). When the student reads the books of Hadith, he should always read
the Ahaadith with the chain of narration, so the names of the narrators start to become
more familiar to him. He should also have the book Taqreeb At-Tahdheeb on hand to
check the status of the different narrators. This should suffice the beginner.

What has been listed throughout all these separate pieces of advice are the basics of
what every student of knowledge should have before continuing on to more advanced
and lengthy books. This plan will not make a person a scholar but it will, insha’Allah,
give the student the tools necessary to reach that state. Once the student has
completed this program he can now start to take one science and complete it. For
example, the student might wish to return to Nahw and memorize Alfiyyah Ibn Maalik
and study it (which is highly advised). The student may also want to read from the
poetry of Jaahiliyyah in length to get an understanding of the lives of the people before
Islaam. Moreover, the student is highly advised to read extensively in the books of the
Seerah of the Prophet as this will aid in understanding the Quran better. From the
books he should read are: 1) Zaad Al-Ma’aad by Ibn Al-Qayyim 2) Al-Wafaa by Ibn Al-
Jawzi 3) Fusool min Seerah Ar-Rasool by Ibn Kathir and others that are important.

The student should read more extensively in Tafseer from books like: 1) Zaad Al-
Maseer by Ibn Al-Jawzi 2) Fat’hul-Qadeer by Ash-Shawkaani 3) Adhwaa’ul-Bayaan by
Ash-Shinqeeti 4) Ahkaamul-Quraan by Ibn Al-Arabi 5) Al-Jaami’a LiAhkaam Al-Quraan by
Al-Qurtubi 6) Tafseer Al-Kabeer for Sheikh-ul-Islaam, and many others.

The student should also read extensively in the different explanations of Hadith such as,
Fat’hul-Baari the explanation of Sahih Al-Bukhari by Al-Haafidh Ibn Al-Haajar and the
Sharh of Sahih Muslim by Imam An-Nawwawi.

After finishing this program and doing what is stated herein, the student should now be
ready to return to wherever he is from and give dawwah. If he fails to complete this, I
don’t see him as being ready, but he should teach whatever it is that he learned from
the religion and keep his mouth shut in regards to other issues. This, as we see, is the
problem with the dawwah in the US and in the rest of the west, and that is we see
students go back and they have not even finished a small portion of what you see on
this list, yet they want to teach everything and talk about every issue. This is the reason
the dawwah is in the state that it is in right now. May Allah increase us in knowledge
and make us firm upon the Sunnah! May Allah increase us in Eemaan and good actions
that come from correct Eemaan!

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